Process for the preparation of winding operations and for the removal of rolls from a winding machine

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a process for performing winding operations. In an apparatus for performing the process the winding shafts which are supported at one end only by supports are rotatably and directly driven and are axially displaceable into the winding area of a roll to be wound on which shafts winding cores are mounted before starting the winding operation.

United States Patent 11 1 Schmidt et a1.

[ Nov. 112., 11974 1 PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF WINDING OPERATIONS AND FOR THE REMOVAL 0F ROLLS FROM A WINDING MACHINE 7s 1 inventors: Willi .Iohann Schmidt,

Hahn/Taunus; Hugo Lumh, Heidesheim, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Kalle Aktiengesellschait, Wiesbaden,

Germany [22] Filed: July 5, 1973 [21 1 Appl. No.: 376,59l

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 166,942, July 28,

1971, abandoned.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 29, 1970 Germany 2037623 [52] US. Cl. 242/68.3 [51] Int. Cl B6511 19/02 [58] Field of Search 242/55, 56.2, 56.9, 41,

V T "***g [56] A H r References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS V 1,462,487 7/1923 De Vry 242/68.3 2,985,401 5/1961 Gazet 242/81 3,174,700 3/1965 Lemoire 1142/18 3,332,636 7/1967 Rockstrom 242/65 Primary ExaminerJohn W. Huckcrt Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm-James E. Bryan ABSTRACT This invention relates to a process for performing winding operations. in an apparatus for performing the process the winding shafts which are supported at one end only by supports are rotatably and directly driven and are axially displiicenble into the winding area of a roll to be wound on which shafts winding 7 cores are mounted before starting the winding operation.

2. Claims, 12 DrawingFigures PATENTEDuuv 12 I974. 3847366 saw u 0F 5 i PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF WINDING OPERATIONS AND FOR THE REMOVAL-OF ROLLS FROM A WINDING MACHINE This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 166,942, filed July 28, I971, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing the winding-up of web-like materials and for removing the finished rolls from a winding machine. In addition to simple re-winding operations, the present invention is particularly suitable for the simultaneous production of several rolls, especially in connection with roll cutting and winding processes.

Processes and apparatuses for the winding-off and winding-up of materials in separate machine units and for re-winding materials in a single machine are well known and are commercially available in a great variety of versions. The first group of machinesneed not be considered, however, because they are used'only for special purposes due to the large floor space they require, and also because they are far less relevant to the present invention than is the second group. The processes and machines comingunder this category already have reached a-high degree of technical perfection and are included within the class of high performance special processes and machines.

The simplest version of machines used for such processes are the so-called re-winding machines. In such machines, the web of material is wound off from a roll and re-wound on another winding shaft that is driven, one or more manufacturing operations for the web'of 2 must be provided for each roll in order toallow an economical operation. Furthermore, this type of process and machine has the considerable disadvantage that material taking place between the two winding procedures. Such manufacturing operations may include a parable operations.

For simple re-winding operations, machines are known in which the winding shafts are supported at each end and are lifted out of the machine each time a take-off roll is inserted and finished rolls are removed.

Light-weight rolls, i.e. narrow rolls .with relatively small diameters, are lifted manually from the machine, whereas heavy rolls with correspondingly heavier winding shafts are removed from the machine with the aid of hoisting apparatuses.

In order to avoid the complicated insertion and removal of the rolls together with their winding shafts in the case of the before described machines, processes and apparatuses have been developed in which the winding shafts are supported at one end only, so that the rolls can be inserted and removed from the side. This lateral insertion and removal of the rolls has the serious drawback that, particularly in the case of heavy I achieved only with technically expensive means. Furv that, in the case of slitting operations in which several rolls must be laterally removed, such supporting device drawbacks caused by the difficult insertion and removal of the original roll and of the finished narrower rolls are the same as in the case of a simple re-winding operation.

In order to better obviate these difficulties, processes have been developed using machines which are equipped with full-length winding shafts capable of swinging out. In addition to the expensive technical construction and the susceptibility to trouble caused thereby andby the heavy weight of the winding shafts, this type of machine has the disadvantage that the opening of the bearingsfor the winding shafts, which must be effected before the winding shafts are swung out, requires additional operating time and often can be performed only with great difficulty, especially with the compact constructions preferred today.

In a further embodiment of a device for performing roll cutting and winding operations, the device is equipped with radially swingable winding arms, and the narrow rolls produced from the original roll by slitting are rested, without axles, in pairs of rocking levers. In addition to the already mentioned drawbacks of swivelling devices, this machine has the disadvantage that the rolls mounted in the pairs of rocking levers are not supported in the center so that, in spiteof the expensive mechanicalequipment, the rolls, and especially thick rolls, tend to sag, which, in turn, may cause further operational troubles, also during further processing of the narrow rolls.

The above-mentioned processes have the common drawback that, due to the rigid arrangement and, consequently, predetermined length of the winding shafts, only special sizes can be produced by the machines. Thus, a complicated removal of the old shafts and insertion of new shafts is necessary when other sizes are to be produced, provided such adaptation is possible at all.

The present invention provides a process for preparing a winding operation or, preferably, several simultaneously proceeding winding operations, which process is capable of reversal, for the removal of finished rolls, and does not have the disadvantage of prior art processes. The process of the invention is used in roll cutting and winding operations.

According to-the present invention, there are em- -ployed unilaterally supported, overhanging winding shafts, in which a) at least one winding shaft mounted such that it is axially displaceable is moved for a predetermined length in the direction of the intended windingg area, b.) the winding core is pushed on the winding shaft, c) the winding core is secured against lateral slippage, and d) the winding shaft is finally moved so far into the winding area that the winding core which is to take up the roll is exactly positioned in the range of the width of the web to be wound up.

The process of the invention is advantageously distinguished from the prior art processes in that it permits a fast installation of the winding arrangement, without time-consuming and technically expensive dismantling or swivelling of entire winding shafts, and that winding cores of different widths, corresponding to the width of the webs to be wound up, can be mounted within a short time. A further, very essential advantage is the adjustability caused by the lateral displaceability of the winding shafts, because the winding core can. be adapted very accurately to the direction of feed of the web. In prior art processes, there was the risk of a lateral distortion of the web to be wound up, when its direction of feed did not exactly correspond to the position of the winding core, so that rolls were produced which did not havelevel front surfaces. Such rolls must be trimmed again, thus causing a loss of material and operating time, with the same problems arising during the renewed re-winding which becomes necessary.

In principle, the process of the invention may be used forall webs of materials which are wound up in flat form, for example paper, metals and the like, but in practice, it has proved to be particularly advantageous for winding flat-sheeted plastic films, especially very thin films, for example those of 25 p. thickness or less.

shaft orshafts'is performed by known devices, for.ex-

ample motors, thrust rods and the like, and the use of hydraulically or pneumatically operated machine parts has proved to be of particular advantage.

Sincethe winding shafts are normally of a relatively heavy construction and the winding cores and the rolls wound upon them very often are of heavy weight, it has proved to be particularly suitable in many cases to support the winding shafts at or shortly before the beginning of the area where they carry the rolls. Supports used for this purpose'include for example upright and- /or suspended parts, and a half-bearing attached to a rod may be used, for example.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the supports are also displaced in the direction of the axial displaceability of the winding shafts, preferably by the same distance as the shafts. This simultaneous displacement of winding shafts and supports is necessary, for example, for the adjustment of a winding position or correction of an already selected position. A displacement of the winding shaft independently from the displacement of the support, and vice versa,.is also possible.

When the roll is supported, the machine parts serving for this purpose should interfere as little as possible with the operation. They are, therefore, preferably shifted so far that the finished roll can be removed without lateral transport movement.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the supports are raised or lowered by means of known apparatus.

In principle, the winding shaft or shafts may be arranged or mounted in any desired position, provided they are axially displaceable in accordance with the invention. However, in order to substantially avoid contamination which is of particular importance when webs of thin plastic films are to be wound up it has proved to be of advantage for the winding shaft or shafts to be so far retracted in their initial position that they are accommodated in an enclosed housing outside of the entire winding area.

The process of the invention has proved suitable not only for the preparation of a winding operation, preferably of several simultaneous winding operations, but may also serve for the quick removal of the finished rolls after the winding operation. The only difference between these two processes is that the sequence of process steps is reversed.

Although the rolls may he stayed by the front ends of the apparatus when the winding shaft or shafts are retracted for removal of finished rolls, it has proved to be of particular advantage in practice to provide a spacing element between the roll and the front wall, or, more preferably, between the roll and the support. It is particularly advantageous to use a spacer sleeve during the removal of the rolls, which sleeve rotates synchronously with the shafts and is attached to the rotating portion of the supporting bearing in order to protect it from dropping off during the axial displacement of the windingshafts. The spacer sleeve is constructed such that it protects the roll from being displaced during the retraction of the winding shaft after completion of the winding operation, and thus renders it possible to separate the winding shaft from the roll. In this manner, damages which may be caused to the front ends of the rolls during their removal, are safely avoided.

As mentioned above, the processof the invention is preferably used for winding or removing several rolls, with technically simpler and thus more economical production methods being the result. In the machines used for this purpose, thewinding' shafts may be arranged on one side only, but in a preferred embodiment, they are disposed opposite to each other, and. most advantageously, the winding shafts are arranged with their axes symmetrical to each other.

The process of the invention will be further illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings show, in side elevation, a simplified representation of an apparatus used within the invention, by means of which the process steps of the inventive process are performed,

FIGS. 6 and 7 show, in side elevation, the removal of a finished roll,

FIG. 8 is a-perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the roll cutting and winding apparatus used for performing the process of the invention,

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of two supporting devices which can be raised and lowered in the direction of the arrows and support the winding axes, and

FIGS. 10 to 12 show three different positions of one of the winding shafts and the supporting system therefor.

In FIG. 1, the winding shaft 4 which rotates in the direction of the arrow and passes through the bearing 11 mounted in the side cover l3is shown in the retracted position.

FIG. 2 shows the winding shaft axially displaced in the direction of the winding area (a).

In FIG. 3, the winding shaft is shown with the winding core 5 pushed thereon, means for power transmission (not shown) being provided between the winding shaft and the winding core. 7

In FIG. 4, the winding core 5 is secured against lateral slippage by means of a locking cap 9 for the shaft end. Alternatively, other devices may. be used for securing the winding core, for example splines, keys, and the like.

FIG. 5 shows that the winding shaft has been moved exactly into the winding area (a). As already mentioned, the step according to FIG. 5 may be carried out during the first axial displacement of the winding shaft.

FIG. 6 shows the finished roll 3 on the winding core 5. The winding shaft 4 is supported by a supporting bearing 6 which, in turn, is held by the supporting arms 10. The supporting arms are passed through the bearings 12 positioned within the lateral bearing plate 7. As

-a preferred embodiment of the spacing element, a following spacer sleeve 8 is provided between the supporting bearing 6 and the roll 3.

FIG.'7 shows how the roll 3 is separated from the winding shaft 4; the locking cap 9 is removed, the winding shaft 4 is retracted, and the roll is stayed by the spacer sleeve.

Rolls of relatively light weight may be removed manually, but heavy rolls are advantageously loaded upon a conveyor system.

FIG. 8 shows a particularly advantageous embodiment of a roll cutting and winding apparatus for performing the process of the invention.

' FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of two supporting devices 14 and 14 which can be raised and lowered in the direction of the arrows and support the winding axes shortly before the carrying position of the rolls 3. The supporting devices are mounted on an axis 15 and are axially displaceable.

FIGS. ll) to 12 show the apparatus components required for effecting the rotary and pushing movement of the winding shaft and the pushing movement of the supporting arms with the bearings 6. These components are enclosed within the housings l3 and 13', and in FIGS. It) to 12 are shown for one side of the apparatus only.

FIG. 8 shows the individual webs 2 which are cut FIG. 9 shows the structural elements required for operating the raising and lowering devices l4 and 14'.

The elements are specifically shown only for the raising and lowering device 14, and similar elements are employed in connection with the raising and lowering device 14'. Thepiston of the raising and lowering device 14 works in a cylinder 27 filled with air or liquid 28. Pressure, designated with the letter P, can be applied to the system through the junction .29 to raise the piston 14. By reducing the pressure P, the piston 14 can be lowered. By turning the hand wheel 34 mounted on the spindle 30, the nut 31 connected to the device I4 can be axially displaced thereby also moving the raising system axially. The spindle is supported in the bearings 32 and 33.

FIGS. II) to 12 show the apparatus enclosed within the housing 13'. Similar apparatus is enclosed in the housing 113. The shaft 4 is rotated by means of the motor 16 driving the shaft through the gear 17, V-belt and V-belt pulley. The shaft 4 is axially displaceably mounted in a casing 20, and the \/-belt pulley is laterally displaceably but non-rotatably mounted on the easing 20. The shaft 4 is supported by the supports 22a and 22b. The bearing brackets 6' and 6a are connected with the supporting arms 10, and in the bearing bracket 6a a stem guide is located in which the spindle 23 is moved by means of a miter gear 24 and a motor, not shown. By moving the spindle 23 via the bearing bracket 6a, the supporting arms 10 and T00 are axially moved together with the bearing bracket 6.

To the bearing bracket 6a a hydraulically or pneumatically working lifting cylinder is connected. On the from a web of material I by means of cutting devices (not shown) and wound into rolls 3. The rolls are wound upon winding cores 5 (not shown). The axially displaceable winding shafts 4 and 4'are supported by supporting bearings 6 attached to axially displaceable supporting arms It). The winding shafts are passed opposite side the cylinder is connected with the shaft 4 via a connecting plate 25 and a double-acting thrust bearing 26. By means of this cylinder, the shaft is axi ally displaceable, independently of the location of the supporting system composed of parts It), Illa, 6 and 6a.

FIG. 10 shows the shaft 4 and the supporting system both in an outer position.

FIG. 11 shows the shaft 4 in an outer position and the supporting system in an inner position.

FIG. 12 shows the shaft 4 in an inner position and the supporting system in an outer position.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

What is claimed is:

I l. A process for preparing for winding operations which comprises axially displacing a winding shaft a predetermined distance in the direction of the winding area, pushing a winding core onto the winding shaft, securing the winding core against lateral slippage on the winding shaft, and further moving the winding core into final winding position in the winding area.

2. A process according to claim l in which the winding shaft is moved into final winding position before the winding core is pushed thereon.

V I =l =I 

1. A process for preparing for winding operations which comprises axially displacing a winding shaft a predetermined distance in the direction of the winding area, pushing a winding core onto the winding shaft, securing the winding core against lateral slippage on the winding shaft, and further moving the winding core into final winding position in the winding area.
 2. A process according to claim 1 in which the winding shaft is moved into final winding position before the winding core is pushed thereon. 